About 3 weeks ago, Toyota Motor Thailand teased the world with the launch of the all-new Vios. Or Ativ as it’s known in Thailand. The 15-second teaser video that was posted gave us a peek at the exterior and interior bits of the incoming model. Today, it has finally been launched and we now have a clearer look at the all-new Vios.
All-new 2023 Toyota Vios makes its Thailand debut
Photo: Toyota
To say that the all-new Vios has “grown up” is right. Far from its first iteration, and much different from the outgoing one, this model has taken on styling cues that make it stand out from the crowd.
Compared to the outgoing model, the new Vios is as long, wider, and just a little bit taller at 4425mm, 1740mm (from 1730mm), and 1480mm (from 1475mm). Its wheelbase has been lengthened and is now at 2620mm from 2550mm, though, so we hope that translates to a bit more interior space.
Photo: Toyota
The exterior now resembles the Vios’ big brother, the Corolla Altis. The sharp-edged design of the headlight units cut neatly into the front bumper, and are bordered by a black accent piece on top. The massive grill that’s now seen in Toyota’s designs has likewise been applied to the Vios. Flat black is found in the lower variants and piano black on the higher ends.
Photo: Toyota
The sides see no flashy adornments, which makes the car look a lot wider than it is. From this angle, the clamshell hood also makes it look a lot more muscular given the absence of creases or lines or excessive flares on the fenders. Speaking of creases, the smooth overall contours on the front and sides are all neat, but they can be found in the rear.
Photo: Toyota
New-design taillight units give a touch of both classy and sporty to the Vios. Its split LED lights are very reminiscent of those found on modern, European vehicles. A black accent piece also makes its way to the trunk between the taillight garnishes, and it does well to break what’s otherwise a monotonous slab of colored metal. A wing or a ducktail spoiler can also be found on some of the variants. Not bad!
Photo: Toyota
On the inside, the upholstery of choice is full fabric, a fabric-leather combination for the middle 2 variants, and a full red leather motif for the top-of-the-line variant. Mostly black plastic is used for the interior bits but as you go up the variants, you’ll find combinations of brown leather and plastic to the aforementioned red sidings for the Premium Luxury.
Photo: Toyota
The brand’s proprietary safety suite, Toyota Safety Sense, makes its way into its new sub-compact sedan. Along with the pre-collision safety system and Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, other safety features include ABS with EBD, VSC TRC free wheel anti-roll system, hill start assist, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. The more high-tech features are sprinkled in as you go up to the higher variants, though, as to be expected.
Photo: Toyota
Another big surprise is the engine choice. The all-new model now has a single option: a 1.2-liter 4-cylinder DOHC engine that drives the front wheels. The mill puts out 94 HP and 110 Nm of torque. That’s 2 more horses and an extremely modest 1 Nm more pull compared to the previous engine-transmission combination. The transmission being mentioned, it’s mated to what Toyota calls a Super CVT-i with sequential shift.
Photo: Toyota
The 2023 Toyota Vios is priced from THB 539,000 for the entry-level Sport CVT variant to THB 689,000 for the range-topping Premium Luxury CVT. Roughly converted, that will be at least PHP 843,730 and up to PHP 1.078M. The two middle variants, the Smart CVT and Premium CVT are priced at THB 584,000 (~ PHP 914,170) and 659,000 (~ PHP 1.032M), respectively.
There are 7 colors to choose from and they are Super White (Smart and Sport), Urban Metal, Spicy Scarlet, Attitude Black Mica, Metal Stream Metallic, Red Mica Metallic, and Platinum White Pearl (Luxury and Premium).
Of course, these conversions are only estimates given current currency exchange rates. But we hope they won’t be too far off when it reaches the Philippines; more affordable, ideally!
Photo: Toyota
The Vios has sold very, very well since it was first introduced in the Philippines. It continues to do so to this day, and with every new model, its following has kept on growing. The 2023 Toyota Vios may very well carry this torch forward and further for the next years to come. Now we’ll just have to wait on how Toyota Motor Philippines will price it locally. But then again, it’s a Toyota. And a Vios. What’s not to like?
